Months of Negotiating, Threat of Strike Leads to Strong Agreement with First Student

Teamsters Local 26 members that work as drivers, mechanics and monitors at First Student approved an agreement yesterday with the company after several months of negotiations and the threat of a strike, which would have affected 6,000 students in Danville Public Schools. The agreement, which covers approximately 110 workers, was ratified by more than a 75 percent margin.

“I’d like to thank all of our stewards and committee members that worked hard to get this contract ratified,” said Local 26 Secretary-Treasurer Tim Donovan. “We got a good deal and I look forward to things going smoothly over the course of this contract.”

The three-year successor agreement, which is retroactive through Aug. 15, contains significant improvements in wages. Pay for drivers who have at least seven years with the company will go from $17.16 an hour to $17.75, and they will make $18.90 when the contract expires in August 2020. Incoming drivers’ pay will go from $11.20 an hour to $14, and they will get 10 cents more an hour the second year and 20 cents an hour on top of that in the third year. The contract also includes increases in benefits regarding short-term disability that start in January of next year.

Teamsters Local 26 is an affiliate of Teamsters Joint Council 25, America’s premier labor union for Chicago, Illinois and northwest Indiana.